What's it like being a Saints fan from the beginning, compared to now? (1 Viewer)

Let me throw a curve ball to the older WhoDats:

Most of the wins (pre-Bum Phillips) were hard to come by. So when the Saints played well and got the "W," we watched Monday Night Football (HALFTIME highlights) with anticipation.

Man, oh, man... what a bummer it was when they didn't show a highlight of a Saints' victory. Howard Cosell would feature the Cowboys, Raiders and others... but not our lowly Saints. Well, the Saints would make it once in a while, but not as much as we'd like. Howard, along with "Dandy" Don Meredith and Frank Gifford were quite a crew.

And speaking of MNF, that loss to the Raiders was an embarrassment... and PAINFUL to watch. Our head coach was Dick Nolan (Mike Nolan's dad), and from what I understand--- that team had a bunch of players on cocaine. But I digress.

So great to witness these years under CSP. Yes, indeed!

:gosaints:
 
Cliffs notes version:
1. Billy Kilmer will save us? - nah.
2. Archie Manning will save us? - nah.
3. Thunder and Lightning? - nah.
4. Russell Erxlerben? - nah.
5. Bum Phillips? - nah
6. Coulda shoulda woulda? - ok...
7. Dome Patrol? - yes....
8. Mike Ditka? - what happened?
9. Haslett? - ok...
10. Katrina? - bye bye Saints!
11. Drew Brees? - Wait, we still have football? Who's this guy? - He's good!
You only missed Hank Stram.
 
Back in the day, I would PRAY that that we could keep the game close, but in the back of my mind, I KNEW, we would probably lose the game. We would blow the game somehow.
Beginning in 2006 until the present, I began to EXPECT us to win! It took me a year or so to get used to this WEIRD feeling of WINNING most games. Once your brain has been trained for 30 plus years of failure, terrible coaches and players, then losing becomes naturally expected. NOW that SP and DB9 have come to town, I expect us to win every game, or be close in the games we lose. I NEVER wavvered on MY Saints! WHO DAT!
 
Let me throw a curve ball to the older WhoDats:

Most of the wins (pre-Bum Phillips) were hard to come by. So when the Saints played well and got the "W," we watched Monday Night Football (HALFTIME highlights) with anticipation.

Man, oh, man... what a bummer it was when they didn't show a highlight of a Saints' victory. Howard Cosell would feature the Cowboys, Raiders and others... but not our lowly Saints. Well, the Saints would make it once in a while, but not as much as we'd like. Howard, along with "Dandy" Don Meredith and Frank Gifford were quite a crew.

And speaking of MNF, that loss to the Raiders was an embarrassment... and PAINFUL to watch. Our head coach was Dick Nolan (Mike Nolan's dad), and from what I understand--- that team had a bunch of players on cocaine. But I digress.

So great to witness these years under CSP. Yes, indeed!

:gosaints:

I don't recall expecting much on Monday night football but I sure remember anticipating being talked about on Inside the NFL. There are probably plenty of people with old VHS copies of that show when the Saints were doing well in the late 80s early 90s.
 
Kenny Stabler late in the 4th quarter against Dallas getting sacked in the end zone for a safety in a 20-19 game.

Yea, that was brutal.. You are up by only 1 point with under 2 minutes left at Dallas getting ready pull off a big upset... and what do you do? Stabler takes a sack in the endzone!
 
I’ll add in some more.

There is one aspect of my daddy’s Saints that cannot be compared to my Saints. It is rather a lame aspect and I obviously will take my Saints, over my daddy’s Saints. But it was a fun.

The pre-season halftime shows. Static firework displays in the south endzone along with overhead fireworks. Ostrich races, where Buddy D. was a jockey. The battle of New Orleans re-enactment, though a few participants were injured from a cannon misfire. No real ammo, just a premature discharge of the packing. Game ball flown in with a guy wearing a JET BACKPACK, that was similar in shape to the guys selling Falstaff draft beer out of backpacks into plastic cups!!! The hot air balloon liftoffs.

As a kid, and with the Saints being so horrible, I actually enjoyed the halftime shows more.

Back during my daddy’s Saints, days, I got to see some great players and coaches. Jim Taylor, Paul Horning, Leroy Kelly, Vince Lombardi, Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, Franco Harris, Sonny Jergerson, John Brodie...just to name those few.
 
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I was born in 1963, so I'm no spring chicken any longer. I was born here in Mississippi, but we moved to Slidell in the late 60's. The Saints had just come into the league, and we immediately became Die Hard Saints fans.

My Dad took me to most of the games he was home for, because he was a Greyhound Bus Driver and was on the road alot. Those games were in Old Tulane Stadium. We all think about the Georgia Bulldogs when we hear the statement "the hedges," but I'm here to tell you, that was where the hedges were!

Now, as for the Saints. I was a kid, but I really got hooked on that team, even if it weren't any good. Still remember the best moments (though, no where near all of my old memories - getting old!); I remember the Gilliam Kick Return, the Dempsey 63 yard Kick, and Danny Abramowitz running into an object on the sideline after a catch and holding his head like it was about to explode! lol.

I remember the day I finally heard that Archie was drafted. My Dad was a huge Ole Miss Rebel fan, and thereby, so was I. We were thrilled that Archie was going to be a Saint. Then, the career actually got started.

"Down.....Set......Hutt.....3 to 5 step drop, then hit the ground so you don't get killed. That was how Archie had to play in those days. We never gave him an O-Line. He was getting killed every time he dropped back. A Running QB? Heck, he had to be. If he couldn't run, he would have been killed playing for those teams.

Then there is something a lifelong fan can never forget. John Meachem (sp?). Absolutely the worst Owner/GM ever! It's not that he didn't try. He drafted some really great players during his time. Problem is, he would turn right around and trade them away after 2 or 3 seasons. Think of the list of players:

Chuck Muncie
George Rogers
Tommy Myers
Danny Abramowitz
Archie Manning

And, the list goes on and on. Can't even begin to list them all - not to mention, I'm bad with names (heck, I can't even remember the name of the Reciever we let go to San Diego to play with Fouts anymore, lol). Still, these were all - and just some of the - great players that had stellar careers in the NFL.

Year after year, season after season, my dreams were crushed. I kept waiting, thinking that eventually they would get it right. Finally, they brought in Bum Phillips, and I thought we were on our way. But, probably the most exciting thing to remember about his teams were when he got his Stetson Hat stolen off his head!

I still remember the draft where Lawrence TAylor got drafted. I was so dissapointed. Then, we drafted Ricky Jackson in the 2nd round! I was thrilled! Only problem was, I figured he would be traded away in a few years to another them. Thank God I was wrong, because in my opinion, he's just as good at LT ever was!

Now, as all of us know, there were no winning seasons during all of this drama. Yes, there was a non-winless one, as we almost made the playoffs, but no winning ones. I thought, can it ever get any better? But wait, there was a miracle coming, and his name was Tom Benson!

Yes, good Ole Tom came in and bought my beloved Saints, and the good times began. He hired Jim Finks, who brought in Jim Mora, and the fun began! We started having more good drafts, but we didn't trade them away! And, there was no free-agency (unless you cound Plan B Free Agency as the same), so we actually got to keep our players! And, what Players: Pat Swilling, Willie Roaf, Dalton Hilliard, Reuben Mayes, Gene Atkins, Bret Maxie, and so many more! And, we had another stroke of luck in that the USFL crashed, and we got a lot of their great players: Bobby Hebert, Vaughn Johnson, just to name a couple! Yes, the good times were starting.

But, in all of this, we had a problem. Our shiny new HC could win, and win big during the regular season. However, he couldn't win a playoff game if someone had been there whispering in his ear the blueprint as to how! "Playoffs! Playoffs! Heck, I'd just be happy to win a game!" lol. Well, he was funny, and knew how to conduct an interview!

Well, all good things must come to an end. Modern Free-agency arrived, along with something called the Salary Cap, and boom - we were the Ain'ts again. Jim Finks had died, and Jim Mora quit. Then, we bring in the lovable Mike Ditka. The best thing he did for us was to show us how to get married to a RB after giving an entire Draft class (and part of the next) away to get him! Ugh.

Well, things finally got a little bit better when we brought in Randy Mueller, and he brought Mickey Loomis with him. We all know what happened. Jim Haslett finally got us a playoff win. But, he wasn't the best thing in all of this. Randy got let go, and Mickey took over. Then, after Katrina, he brought in Sean Payton and Drew Brees, and we finally got to the pinnacle of the NFL by winning a Superbowl!

I say all of this not to show how old I am, but to say this. I (along with many others on this board), have seen the 1-15 seasons. I've worn the bag on my head. I've heard all the references to the Ain'ts. Now, we are in hog heaven with our beloved Saints.

So, for all the young guys on the forum, I hope this has been a wake-up call. Times can change in a heartbeat. I hope they don't, but those old times could come back. Enjoy this while you can, because eventually, Drew Brees is going to retire, and Sean Payton may leave. Hopefully, we won't go back to the Aint's days, but it could happen.

It's just the continued story of the New Orleans Saints - the one and only Who Dat Nation, where we all bleed Black n Gold! Geaux Saints!
We're the same age, so I can relate. I remember getting nervous as an eight year old before games, nothing has changed. The heartache of Big Ben, the OT loss to the Falcons in 78, the list goes on. We were just unfortunate to have psycho Mecom has an owner. I got my first tattoo after the San Diego game in 2000 (fleur de lis), when no one had that tat. I felt like something was different about that team. Little did I know that wold be the first playoff win in history. It's good to be a Saints fan. What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.
 
As a young guy, I used to feel like being a Saints fan showed true loyalty and wore that like a badge of honor. No doubt, no one could mistake me for a fear weathered fan. I lived outside the state pretty much my entire adult life, and I loved wearing (and still do) by Saints gear because more than anything I showed people I was from the coolest place on Earth. Back then, it was more of being proud of a city and culture than it was bragging about how good my team was.

Now, with Payton/Brees, we have had playoff and/or superbowl expectations every single year. It is different now. Don't get me wrong, I prefer the Saints as winners but I think I probably had more pride about being a fan when they weren't.
 
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11. Drew Brees? - Wait, we still have football? Who's this guy? - He's good!
Already knew who Drew was. I was wanting us to draft him so bad in that draft. I watched him his whole career at Purdue, and was amazed. When I saw him throw, I kept thinking this guy was going to be the next Joe Montanna (though I couldn't much stand Joe). San Diego took him, and I was crushed. We were coming off the Hobert and Tolliver days then. That's when we grabbed Jeff Blake, and broght in Aaron Brooks and signed Jake Delhomme. I was ok with that, but still wished we had taken Drew in the Draft.
 
Kenny Stabler late in the 4th quarter against Dallas getting sacked in the end zone for a safety in a 20-19 game.
God, I still get so mad at Kenny Stabler becoming a Saint. We had Archie already, who was better, and to top it off, we bring in the washed up RB from Houston. I was saying, WHAT!?!!!!!!!!!! Are you crazy?
 
Not an old timer been only watching the Saints since '90. I remember the early years being full of heartache. 1993 was disappointing after a strong 5-0 start. Jim Everitt made the Saints exciting offensively for a couple years. Bottom fell out in 96. 2000 brought renewed hope and excitement. 2001 to 2004 team was mired in mediocrity but has some good moments. 2005 bottom fell out of team. 2006 Payton and Brees arrived and saved the Saints!
I'm not ragging on you...but, doing the something for 29yrs is "old timer" enough for anything. You my friend are a citizen!
 
Being only 23, Aaron Brooks, Deuce, Joe Horn, and 8-8 seasons were my earliest memories. I watched every single game in 2005 cause I couldn’t give up on my team. I remember being so excited about drafting Reggie Bush that I really didn’t care that we signed this young QB named Drew Brees. I asked my dad if he was any good and he said that he had a bum shoulder. All these years later, I can honestly say that I’m a really spoiled fan.
 

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